Wall, Linn run to Convincing wins in XTERRA Alabama Race

More than 260 runners enjoy the picturesque trails at Oak Mountain

The trails at Oak Mountain State Park once again lived up to its reputation as one of the best in the nation at the XTERRA Oak Mountain Trail Run on Sunday, November 13.

More than 260 runners participated in the event, which featured three courses - a 21-kilometer half-marathon, a 10-kilometer and a 5-kilometer. The trails at Oak Mountain were ranked as one of the best in the nation by Runner's World Magazine earlier this year.

The elite runners participated in the half-marathon, and David Wall of Columbiana, Alabama, was the overall winner. He completed the course in 1 hour, 27 minutes, 32 seconds.

"I grew up in the Oak Mountain area and have been running in the park for about 10 years," said Wall, 24. "Currently, I attend Auburn University and come home to my parents' house in Chelsea a couple times a month to run the whole Red Trail."

(David Wall photo courtesy www.outdooreventphotos.com)

Brandon Mader of Huntsville, Ala., stayed with Wall for the first half of the race, but ultimately came in second with a time of 1:30:14. Mader, 27, ran another half-marathon the day before.

"The ascent up to Blood Rock wore both of us out and made the beginning of the descent difficult," Wall said. "Once the trail started to open up and smooth out, I kept waiting for Brandon to catch back up, but he never did."

In the women's division, Elena Linn of Birmingham, Ala., turned in yet another dominating performance. She completed the course in 1:39:50, and finished about a mile ahead of the other women.

"The trails were great!" said Linn, who is 25 and a graduate student at Alabama-Birmingham. "I can see some of them being more fun for off-road biking, but the park is huge and there are so many different trails to choose from. And it was absolutely beautiful there with all the leaves changing colors.

"The first half of the course was great! It wasn't too hilly, the trails were pretty even and there weren't many rocks and roots. The second half of the course was very challenging! There were some really steep hills and the downhills were pretty tough. Towards the end, every time I went up a hill I thought that had to be the last one...but sure enough, there was always another one... I definitely had to walk up a part of the last hill."

Linn has won the women's division of the last three XTERRA Alabama Series races in convincing fashion.

(Elena Linn photo courtesy www.outdooreventphotos.com)

Other race winners: Christina Vandeulhust (women's 10K), Stephen Calvert (men's 10K), Ben Whipple (men's 5K) and Hillary Serwan (women's 5K).

Click HERE for complete results.

Click HERE to view more race photos.

The XTERRA Oak Mountain Trail Run was the third of four races in the 2011-12 season for the XTERRA Alabama Series. The final event of the season will also be held at Oak Mountain in May of 2012.

To learn more about the XTERRA Alabama Series, or to enter the race in May, please visit www.dirtyspokes.com or www.xterratrailrun.com.

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